How much do you know about jazz music? Does the thought of jazz instantly make you think of smooth (and slightly boring), background music that you whack on at a dinner party? Well if it does, then I’m here to prove to you that that isn’t all that jazz music is. It can be emotional, upbeat, wild and absolutely amazing. Don’t believe me? Well go ahead and listen to these 30 jazz tracks and tell me otherwise!
This is the first post in my twelve-part series ’30 . . . Tracks That You Need To Listen To’. In each post I take you through a specific genre of music varying from funk to soul to new wave. To kick it all off I’ve picked out 30 jazz tracks that you seriously need to listen to.
A Very Brief History of Jazz Music
Before we get to the playlist itself it’s a good idea to learn a little about what jazz music is and where it’s come from. So, it originated in African-American communities in New Orleans, USA in the late 19th to early 20th century, with its roots stemming from blues and ragtime. The 1920s saw jazz become its own form of musical expression across more traditional and popular styles of music. And the ‘20s themselves were actually known as the ‘jazz age’ and of course the ‘roaring twenties’ as well.
The 1930s saw jazz music take on a big band theme with heavily arrange swing bands taking centre stage. Then the ’40s brought ‘bebop’ jazz which was a much faster tempo sub-genre that is often described as the ‘musicians music’. Much less danceable than the likes of the ’20s and ’30s jazz music.

After that the 1950s brought us ‘hard-bop’ which consisted of rhythm and blue influences particularly on the saxophone and piano parts. The ’60s and ’70s focuses on a ‘jazz-rock’ and then the ’80s brought along the oh so familiar ‘smooth jazz’ genre, which was big when it came to radio play. Overall jazz music can be characterised as having a swing rhythm and features plenty of improvisation, all of which added to its danceability.
If you want to do some of your own reading about jazz music as a genre then you can check out the full wiki page here.
30 Jazz Tracks That You Need To Listen To: My Love of Jazz
I’ve always been a fan of jazz music but I’ll have to admit I’ve never really done any sort of in-depth exploration of the genre. I have my favourite tracks all combined into a playlist but I don’t often stray from my go-to tracks. So for this playlist I’ve included a mix of my favourites, some all time classics and a few new favourites too. If there’s one place to start when it comes to learn a bit about jazz music then it’s this playlist.
My Favourites from the Playlist…
Leon Bridges has become a real new favourite artist of mine, not just in terms of jazz music but in music in general. I ended up including two of his tracks in this playlist; Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand and Bad Bad News, both of which are from his 2018 album Good Thing. Another new (ish) favourite is Raphael Saadiq’s Love That Girl from The Way I See It (2008).
Bringing it back to “old skool” I went with Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me from the album Come Fly With Me (1958). Every time I listen to it I’m reminded of Catch Me If You Can. There’s an iconic scene near the end that features this track. Have any of you ever seen it? If you haven’t then definitely give it a watch. A young Leonardo DiCaprio stars in it so if that doesn’t persuade you I don’t know what will.
A final favourite of mine is Miles Davis’ ‘Round Midnight from ‘Round About Midnight (1957). This is one that has featured on a number of my playlists in the past. It’s such a great late-night track when you’re just having a chill. But, it’s also perfect for early mornings too.
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Are you a fan of jazz music? Is it something that you listen to on the regular or more of a new discovery for you? What are some of your favourite jazz tracks? Let me know in the comments!
Female Original
Next in the series is: 30 Funk Tracks That You Need To Listen To Now
*Photography by Andrei Bocan via Unsplash
January 22, 2019
I loooove older music, everything from jazz to big band to the 60s-80s. Frank Sinatra is one of the best. Looking forward to this series on your blog!
January 22, 2019
Same here! Thank you – I’m looking forward to writing it x
January 22, 2019
Jazz!! I love me some good Jazz music! It is so fun, timeless and CLASSIC!!! Thanks for the playlist!!
January 22, 2019
Can’t beat a bit of jazz! Glad you enjoyed it x
January 22, 2019
This is such a cool idea for a series! I love discovering new music and hearing different songs. I haven’t listened to much jazz before but I just played a couple of songs on your playlist and I like the vibe. It’s a mix of upbeat, chilled and funky! Thanks for sharing, looking forward to see what other genres you feature <3 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
January 22, 2019
Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed some of the songs! I can’t wait to write the other posts this year 🙂 x
January 22, 2019
This is such an amazing idea for a series! I really like jazz but I have to admit that it’s not something that I listen to an awful lot. I can already see a few songs that I love in the playlist, definitely going to give this a listen later x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
January 22, 2019
Thank you! That’s why I thought it’d be am interesting series – we could all learn something new. X
January 23, 2019
Great post, I haven’t heard of some of these songs, I’m so gonna check them out 🙂
– Marina W
http://www.waitmarinawho.com/2019/01/rothenburg-b-der-tauber.html
January 23, 2019
Thank you! I hope you like them x
January 23, 2019
Hey Faye, you had some cool artists I’m familiar with on your list such as Leon Bridges (love him), Sam Cooke, Nora Jones, Raphael Saadiq and the legendary Amy Winehouse. What a creative way to learn more about you and discover new music, can’t wait to see how this series plays out?
January 23, 2019
I keep listening to Leon Bridges on repeat at the moment – love him! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 x
January 23, 2019
Very nice selection◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜
Blog de la Licorne
January 25, 2019
Thank you! x
January 24, 2019
Ah, I love discovering some new music! Now I know what I’ll be listening to on my way to work tomorrow morning 🙂
✖ Jasmin
// overdosedoncaffeine.com
January 25, 2019
Hopefully you enjoy it! Thank you x
January 27, 2019
This is such an awesome idea! I don’t listen to jazz music but I played ‘Misty’ for a music exam once. Hearing it was a huge throwback!
January 27, 2019
Aw thank you! It always reminds me of the film Silver Linings Playbook when I listen to it x
February 7, 2019
Lovely blog! I love Jazz! I’ll definitely check your playlist out! When I was in high school, I played the flute in band, so I wasn’t able to participate in the jazz band. Although I couldn’t participate in it, I was fortunate enough to sit in the front rows to listen to them play in every performance!
August 13, 2020
I would say I’ve never been a fan of jazz but in all honesty, I’ve never taken the time to properly listen to it. So thank you for this! I’ll be checking out some of these tracks 🙂 x
August 14, 2020
Hopefully you’ll find the playlist a good place to start! There’s a mix of older and newer jazz tracks on there so maybe there’ll be a track to convert you into a jazz fan haha x